I’ll be honest, I didn’t fall in love with split pea soup until probably two years ago. Previously, I considered it two ingredients off gruel, and the color!! No thanks. Then one day I tried it and, hold on, it’s so good. “Do people know this?” I thought to myself, sitting on a curb at Pike Place Market, watching people and enjoying my lunch. Then the next questions inevitably walked through my brain, “I wonder how easy this is to make?”

The answer: Very, and it takes less then an hour. Hello weeknight meal!

Foodie Note: I highly suggest making a batch of your own stock for situations such as homemade soup. It’s incredibly easy and a great way to utilize the odds and ends from other recipes (kale stems, herbs, onions, roasted bones). Bonus: You control the salt. Ham hocks can be found pre-smoked in the meat department. Ask the butcher if you don’t see them in the refrigerated case.